The government has confirmed when a decision will be made on whether or not to raise benefits in line with inflation or earnings.
Work and pensions minister Victoria Prentis said the decision will be announced in November. She said Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith will consider the latest figures, including average wage figures this week and inflation data next week, before making her decision.
Ms Prentis told Sky News: “She can’t do anything until those figures have come and she will then consider how to, if at all, uprate benefits and what figure to choose.
She has a very wide discretion to do that. We make a decision and we communicate it usually by the end of November. Read more:More than half a million DWP Universal Credit claimants have been denied a cost of living payment “It’s obviously a really worrying time for people on benefits because they know that inflation is rising.
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